1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to containers generally useful for storage and transportation or goods, especially those loadable and unloadable into ISO (International Organization for Standardization) intermodal containers and flatracks and vehicles such as trucks and cargo bays of planes.
2. Description of Related Art
Containers, especially storage containers, generally take the form of large boxes comprising a base, opposing side walls, opposing end (front and rear) walls, and a cover. These components generally define a container compartment useful for storage and/or transportation of goods. Shipping containers sometimes also are provided with forklift-engageable pallets at their bases for facilitating loading and unloading of the containers onto vehicles, such as trucks and airplanes.
Containers, such as used for shipping and/or storing, have been used in various industries and settings for the shipment of goods. However, after a container has reached its destination and been unloaded, the empty container often must be returned to its origin or to another destination where the container may be needed for further good storage and transport. The large size and bulk of empty containers can make this return trip expensive and inconvenient. To overcome this problem, a number of containers have been proposed that are convertible from their erect position to a collapsed position that substantially reduces or eliminates the empty compartment space of the container, thereby occupying less space than in the erect position. The reduced size makes transport and storage of the empty containers more economic.
Conventional collapsible containers often have one or more drawbacks. For example, conventional collapsible containers often require extraneous tools and hardware (e.g., screws, adhesive strips, bands) for erect the container. Such tools and hardware are prone to misplacement and damage and sometimes lack reusability. Conventional collapsible containers also often lack components for stable and safe stacking over prolonged storage and transport.
Oftentimes, erect containers are stored or transported under conditions that complicate accessibility to the container compartment and any goods contained therein. For example, containers typically comprise a top cover (or lid) that is removable to permit top access to and loading and unloading of the container compartment. In situations in which erect “modular” containers are stacked one upon another, higher stacked containers may physically block and prevent opening of the lids of lower containers. Access to desired goods in the compartment of the lower containers requires the laborious task of unstacking the higher stacked containers from the desired lower container. Similarly, in other situations in which an erect container is placed into a tight confinement space that prevents opening of the container top, access through the container top may require that the entire container be removed from the confinement space.